Have you ever had a truly good bicycle?
#51
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Peugeot UO-8 in 1973 with Suntour GT upgrade was $135. The prior poster has it right.
But then gas was $.28 per gallon, and my college tuition was $1600 per year at a large university. My first job paid $9000/yr. That bike was a lot to me as a student. But the price really means nothing today other than historical reference.
Seriously, you get far more for your money on an entry level bike now than back then, plus more variety and types. Same with cars. I like classic and vintage, but good riddance to steel cotters, steel non-hook bead rims, etc. Give me indexed shifting and a cassette anyday. Goodbye bent rear axles.
I also has the same flip phone for 12 years, and got an iPhone. Good riddance to the flip. A modern flip replacement is junk compared to when the flip was state of the art. No way I want to get an old CRT TV. Things change and early adopters pay the premium and serve as beta testers.
As they say, that was then and now is now.
And for the OP, I believe all my bikes were truly good, or I would not have picked them and kept them so long.
But then gas was $.28 per gallon, and my college tuition was $1600 per year at a large university. My first job paid $9000/yr. That bike was a lot to me as a student. But the price really means nothing today other than historical reference.
Seriously, you get far more for your money on an entry level bike now than back then, plus more variety and types. Same with cars. I like classic and vintage, but good riddance to steel cotters, steel non-hook bead rims, etc. Give me indexed shifting and a cassette anyday. Goodbye bent rear axles.
I also has the same flip phone for 12 years, and got an iPhone. Good riddance to the flip. A modern flip replacement is junk compared to when the flip was state of the art. No way I want to get an old CRT TV. Things change and early adopters pay the premium and serve as beta testers.
As they say, that was then and now is now.
And for the OP, I believe all my bikes were truly good, or I would not have picked them and kept them so long.
#53
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Bought a 1973 Paramount and similar vintage Paramount tandem at a yard sale. Solo was full Campy NR. Both riders as is. Took the solo out a club ride the next weekend with only pumping up the tires and adjusting the seat needed.
$150 for the pair.....
$150 for the pair.....
#54
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Raleigh Sports, 3 speed, $60 brand new when I was 13 or 14. I loved that bike. It got stolen before I was 16.
If you think the Schwinn Varsity was a great bike to ride, I think you're way off. It was obviously a great bike for Schwinn for a long while, even though it probably helped bring on Schwinn's demise by making them the company that produced heavy, dead bikes.
If you think the Schwinn Varsity was a great bike to ride, I think you're way off. It was obviously a great bike for Schwinn for a long while, even though it probably helped bring on Schwinn's demise by making them the company that produced heavy, dead bikes.
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all my bikes have been low priced, or salvation army/ goodwill 40 dollar. All had good components (Shimano). And I have modified with 22 granny gear triple 34 tooth freewheel. All have taken me thousands of miles cross country. Steel or aluminum frames. All relatively heavy. None were $10,000 attempts at indirect self acceptance as are the bikes in the other thread in which other riders justified wasting thousands of dollars on saving a few pounds weight while trying to impress themselves and others by having the money to throw away. If I had $10,000 to piss away, I would use it to help homeless vets, sick children, suffering dogs and I would gain direct self acceptance by being a kind and giving person.
#56
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To the original question.....Short answer is no.
In the early 70's I saved up paper route money and bought my first lbs bike, a Coventry Eagle on sale for 150 that I was fond of, but it was a yr old model at 25% off.
From that point on my bikes have gotten considerably more expensive.
In the early 70's I saved up paper route money and bought my first lbs bike, a Coventry Eagle on sale for 150 that I was fond of, but it was a yr old model at 25% off.
From that point on my bikes have gotten considerably more expensive.
Last edited by Wileyrat; 06-12-19 at 06:02 PM.
#57
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My first new road bike was a Raleigh Record for $120. It sucked. My next road bike cost $199 and was light years better - but over your arbitrary price limit.
#58
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Less than $150 ?
yes!
A five speed Schwinn Suburban, in 1971.
rode it for several years.
yes!
A five speed Schwinn Suburban, in 1971.
rode it for several years.
#59
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Raleigh Sports, 3 speed, $60 brand new when I was 13 or 14. I loved that bike. It got stolen before I was 16.
If you think the Schwinn Varsity was a great bike to ride, I think you're way off. It was obviously a great bike for Schwinn for a long while, even though it probably helped bring on Schwinn's demise by making them the company that produced heavy, dead bikes.
If you think the Schwinn Varsity was a great bike to ride, I think you're way off. It was obviously a great bike for Schwinn for a long while, even though it probably helped bring on Schwinn's demise by making them the company that produced heavy, dead bikes.
I would say to get that Schwinn level of quality of 1975, I would have to buy a new Cannondale Quick 6 today which now retails at $630.
The new Cannondale will have far superior shifters that are indexed.
In 1993, I bought a new purple Cannondale M500 at the army PX in Germany for $650 way back then!! It got stolen on post while locked up and the military compensated me for it. All aluminum frame, center-pull brakes and precision index shifting like a Swiss watch. My only beef was that the bike had no kickstand for such an opulent bike.
https://picclick.co.uk/cannondale-m5...921122492.html
I put taller black touring handlebars on mine as well as a fat spring seat.
Last edited by JonBailey; 06-16-19 at 08:47 PM.
#61
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The Schwinn Varsity was the Camaro or Mustang of ten-speeds. It looked expensive but it wasn't.
It was heavy, relatively cheap and unsophisticated like the pony cars but looked real sporty and cool to young people, however.
The cool thing was it looked hip but was very affordable too.
A Varsity is no Cannondale $10,500 racing bike. A Camaro is no Ferrari.
It was heavy, relatively cheap and unsophisticated like the pony cars but looked real sporty and cool to young people, however.
The cool thing was it looked hip but was very affordable too.
A Varsity is no Cannondale $10,500 racing bike. A Camaro is no Ferrari.
#62
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Here you can see my 15 year old self demonstrating how light my Record was with the prized two finger lift.
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#63
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My first new road bike was also a Raleigh Record! But mine didn't suck. My friend had a Schwinn Varsity that cost about the same, but was about 10(!) pounds heavier. For the record, (no pun intended) Varsities were also "truly good" bikes for the price!
Here you can see my 15 year old self demonstrating how light my Record was with the prized two finger lift.
Here you can see my 15 year old self demonstrating how light my Record was with the prized two finger lift.
Cool longer Sean Cassidy (Andy Gibb??) hair, no tatts, no beards, no weird clothes, no Lexus tee-shirts, no smartphones, no weird hair colors. 1970's youth class!
I turned 15 in the year 1979 and looked like the boys in the Brady Bunch.
Was that picture taken with a Kodak Instamatic, a Brownie Hawkeye camera or a Polaroid One Step?
Last edited by JonBailey; 06-16-19 at 09:28 PM.
#64
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Is that you in about the year 1975?
Cool longer Sean Cassidy (Andy Gibb??) hair, no tatts, no beards, no weird clothes, no Lexus tee-shirts, no smartphones, no weird hair colors. 1970's youth class!
I turned 15 in the year 1979 and looked like the boys in the Brady Bunch.
Was that picture taken with a Kodak Instamatic, a Brownie Hawkeye camera or a Polaroid One Step?
Cool longer Sean Cassidy (Andy Gibb??) hair, no tatts, no beards, no weird clothes, no Lexus tee-shirts, no smartphones, no weird hair colors. 1970's youth class!
I turned 15 in the year 1979 and looked like the boys in the Brady Bunch.
Was that picture taken with a Kodak Instamatic, a Brownie Hawkeye camera or a Polaroid One Step?
#65
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A couple of years later I got a job at the same shop repairing bikes. It lasted one summer, I was cut in the fall. Great experience and memories.
I had both the Kodak 110 Instamatic, and a Polaroid. By the looks of it I think the pic above was taken by the later.
Yes, I had a small collection of Rat Fink iron on Tee's!
Last edited by AlmostTrick; 06-17-19 at 08:26 AM.
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#66
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'76 I believe. I traded in a mint condition Schwinn Stingray 5 speed with the tall (and soon to be outlawed) Stick Shift for the Record. The shop gave me $65 for it. The owner rolled it right out on the sales floor when I brought it in... it needed absolutely nothing and didn't even have a scratch! A few days later, I stopped in and saw they had it tagged for $85. I wish I still had that Stingray, but there was no way I could have gotten the Record without the trade in $$.
A couple of years later I got a job at the same shop repairing bikes. It lasted one summer, I was cut in the fall. Great experience and memories.
I had both the Kodak 110 Instamatic, and a Polaroid. By the looks of it I think the pic above was taken by the later.
Yes, I had a small collection of Rat Fink iron on Tee's!
A couple of years later I got a job at the same shop repairing bikes. It lasted one summer, I was cut in the fall. Great experience and memories.
I had both the Kodak 110 Instamatic, and a Polaroid. By the looks of it I think the pic above was taken by the later.
Yes, I had a small collection of Rat Fink iron on Tee's!
I've never been a fan of styling bicycles like automobiles, hot-rods, race-cars or motorcycles.
The fake gas tank is an age-old styling gimmick for boy's bikes of the 1950's.
Even as a young boy, I always favored the looks of adult-style bicycles with two large-diameter wheels of the same size.
A 10-speed road bike is definitely grown-up-looking.
A Schwinn Krate looks like greasy kidstuff.
Last edited by JonBailey; 06-17-19 at 08:44 AM.
#67
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https://www.cpsc.gov/Business--Manuf...e-Requirements
Read it and weep for your lost freedom to needlessly injure yourself, or for bicycle manufacturers/wholesalers/retailers to injure their customers in any way you/they seem fit.
Last edited by I-Like-To-Bike; 06-17-19 at 09:04 AM.
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#68
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Schwinn Varsity was a great bike for underage people back in the 1970's. It was a cool 10-speed bike for youth with lots of chrome pieces. 10-speed road bicycles were fashionable then. The average casual bike rider who rode it to and from school or around college campus didn't care much about light-weight fancy metals or this other high-tech crap. It looked cool for about $120 then. They probably weren't ridden far. I saw a boy in the summer of 1975 with a big portable mono radio (they didn't have boombox stereos yet) strapped to the rear double basket of such Varsity with this song playing on my local elementary school ground:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWsyuaFMvMs
I would say to get that Schwinn level of quality of 1975, I would have to buy a new Cannondale Quick 6 today which now retails at $630.
The new Cannondale will have far superior shifters that are indexed.
In 1993, I bought a new purple Cannondale M500 at the army PX in Germany for $650 way back then!! It got stolen on post while locked up and the military compensated me for it. All aluminum frame, center-pull brakes and precision index shifting like a Swiss watch. My only beef was that the bike had no kickstand for such an opulent bike.
https://picclick.co.uk/cannondale-m5...921122492.html
I put taller black touring handlebars on mine as well as a fat spring seat.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWsyuaFMvMs
I would say to get that Schwinn level of quality of 1975, I would have to buy a new Cannondale Quick 6 today which now retails at $630.
The new Cannondale will have far superior shifters that are indexed.
In 1993, I bought a new purple Cannondale M500 at the army PX in Germany for $650 way back then!! It got stolen on post while locked up and the military compensated me for it. All aluminum frame, center-pull brakes and precision index shifting like a Swiss watch. My only beef was that the bike had no kickstand for such an opulent bike.
https://picclick.co.uk/cannondale-m5...921122492.html
I put taller black touring handlebars on mine as well as a fat spring seat.
I had a Varsity as a kid and rode the hell out of it, but I would find the Schwinn an absolute nightmare to ride compared to today's bikes.
We've had this discussion before. You can pick up a used Varsity for almost nothing on Craigslist.
#69
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Now I (30 years old) have a beard, no hair, tattoos, a masters degree, and a good job. Still no Lexus shirt (Is that a thing? I must be getting old...) but I am rather fond of stripey French tshirts.
Let's keep in mind that people of all ages love vintage and classic bikes and that the times have changed! Everyone I know in my field (advanced degree required, public facing) under the age of 40 looks about like I do.
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#70
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My second bike was a brand new 1965 Schwinn Sting-Ray that retailed for $56.95. Loved that bike.
Problem is - inflation charts show that equals $450 today (ouch)
Problem is - inflation charts show that equals $450 today (ouch)
#71
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that you were truly fond of for under $150 retail new?
Name the year, make and model, please.
I would have to say that virtually any Schwinn or Excelsior made before 1980 and
made in America that retailed new originally for under $150 would be a truly great bicycle.
I guess we can through in some Raleighs of old too.
I really enjoyed my Murray Monterey cruiser bike I bought at Montgomery Wards in 1989. I was in the army at the time and age 25. Single speed, coaster brake and balloon tires. 26". Maroon paint with white letters. $99 bucks plus tax. I was young, thin and strong then. Nowadays I need a lot of derailleur gears to pedal over rolling hills and less than perfectly flat roads.
Name the year, make and model, please.
I would have to say that virtually any Schwinn or Excelsior made before 1980 and
made in America that retailed new originally for under $150 would be a truly great bicycle.
I guess we can through in some Raleighs of old too.
I really enjoyed my Murray Monterey cruiser bike I bought at Montgomery Wards in 1989. I was in the army at the time and age 25. Single speed, coaster brake and balloon tires. 26". Maroon paint with white letters. $99 bucks plus tax. I was young, thin and strong then. Nowadays I need a lot of derailleur gears to pedal over rolling hills and less than perfectly flat roads.
#72
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Honestly I've had good luck with my wife's 2013 Huffy Trailrunner. I know HUFFY. But it was cheap and has lasted 6 years OUTSIDE in all weather conditions. Other than a little rust that bike has had ZERO issues yes no problems with moderate riding. In 6 years only had to change a tube, all gears still shift perfect wheels spin true. Great cheap bike. Other awesome bike with no problems is my old Peugeot.80s model original still works flawlessly. Cost a little more new though.
#73
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My first multi-speed bike was a 1968 Schwinn Continental. It cost me $125 and was an expensive buy for me at the time. It was my sole means of transportation and it did the job well! The ~600% inflation rate since that time takes it well over your $150 threshold in today's dollars though.
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For my birthday (13th, 14th, or 15th, this places it about 65-67) my mother bought me a bike. Brand new and from an actual bike shop, a gold Raleigh 10 speed. Made entirely of steel it had not one single piece of aluminum on it. Full retail price was $69.95. I never had a 24" bike going straight from a 20" Stingray type to the Raleigh. My friends and I got around pretty well on our 20's but the 10 speed allowed us to go places we never dreamed possible on the small bikes. I came to notice a few friends had bikes with some bits of alloy and I clearly understood that this was lighter and just looked damn better.
Fond of? Oh hell yeah. This bike delivered unprecedented freedom and continued to deliver till I got my drivers license.
Fond of? Oh hell yeah. This bike delivered unprecedented freedom and continued to deliver till I got my drivers license.
#75
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1976, maybe 1977. 13 or 14 year old me bought a Sears Free Spirit 10 speed. $125 was a LOT of money. I didn't know any better. That bike was a road bike, a gravel bike, a trail bike... Wish I hadn't given it away in 1983... Took 6 years to get back to bicycles...